Life Imitation

A virtual futuristic vison of a dark new world mediated through gaming, chatrooms and sexting, which exposes the conjunctions of technology, communication and gender. Structured through a dexterous mix of verité footage of young life in China, mobile phone screens and the ultra-violence of Grand Theft Auto that represents American life, Life Imitation focuses on young women exploring their identities and pushing their boundaries in the real and the virtual worlds. These characters occupy liminal spaces alienated from mundane daily life, but unfulfilled in the on-line world. They stare at their phones as if in expectation of a life-changing revelation from beyond, but all that comes is what has come before. Strange and compelling, the film creates an almost post-human identity, one that cannot exist outside the digital, but that strives unsuccessfully to fulfil the very human desires of bodily contact and emotional exchange.

Helen de Witt

Trailer...

2016 Life Imitation-Trailer from Chen Zhou on Vimeo.